Share Clear Messaging During Birth Defect Awareness Month to Help Prevent Lifelong Effects
Substance use during pregnancy is common: about 1 in 7 pregnant people drink alcohol, 1 in 20 binge drink, and 4 in 10 of those who drink also use other substances, most frequently tobacco and cannabis. January is Birth Defects Awareness Month, a call to action for social workers to share a key message: for a healthy pregnancy, it is safest to avoid alcohol, smoking, and other recreational drugs.
Substance use during pregnancy can lead to poor outcomes. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) can occur when a developing baby is exposed to alcohol before birth. People with FASDs can live with lifelong behavioral, intellectual, and physical disabilities. Tobacco use during pregnancy increases the risks for birth defects of the mouth and lip, as well as preterm birth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome. In addition, prenatal cannabis use has been linked to fetal anomalies as well as developmental problems such as low birth weight and attention and learning issues, as well as higher stillbirth rates, lower Apgar scores (which measure a newborn’s health after birth), and increased risk of neonatal intensive care unit admission.
Social workers are uniquely positioned to put prevention into practice by screening all clients, including pregnant people, for alcohol and other substance use. And they can talk with clients who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant about avoiding alcohol and other substances during pregnancy. Given that every pregnancy is different, it is not possible to predict how each baby will be affected by maternal substance use. The safest pathway is to avoid any type of substance use during pregnancy.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the NASW Foundation are collaborating with the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute at The University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work in a national effort to engage social workers in the prevention of substance-exposed pregnancy. The FASD National Partner Network is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initiative that puts social work at the center of prevention practice, along with colleagues in family medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, pediatrics, nursing, and medical assisting.
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Article by Diana Ling, MA, Senior Program Manager; and Anna Mangum, MSW, MPH, Senior Health Strategist; Health Behavior Research and Training Institute, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin.
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This initiative, Engaging Social Workers in Preventing Alcohol- and Other Substance-Exposed Pregnancies, is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a financial assistance award totaling $913,610 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
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